News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-12-01

"eeh, aHu lie supply OF 1OOu they haC
with them threatened to give out. Ii
view of this fact it became necessary
that one of them should go to the near
est vllage-more than a dozen mile.
dlstant-so as to replenish their stores.
The task fell on Igor from choice, and
one day, little after noon, he set off Oh
his snow-shoes, taking his trusty rifle
with him, and also carrying that insep-
arabic weapon of the Siberian hunter, 6
short-handled axe, in his belt.
He calculated to get to the village be-
fore nightfall, which came on early in
that latitude at that time of the year,
and having been cramped up in camp
several days, 1T was pleasant expert
ence to the lad to have the privilege OF
stirring hislegs.
1t was growing colder, the wind was
blowing from the northwest again, and
the snow was gradually hardening.
That didn't matter much; it would only
be the easier travelling when he return
ed with the supplies.
So Igor walked, whistling merrily and
keeping his eyes open for game. Some
two miles below the camp he shot sa-
BILE and hung the body in the fork of a
tree to freeze until his return.
The country he was walking through
was level and wooded, with openings at
intervals, and not far off flowed the river.
The village that he was going to lay on
the other side of the stream, and he had
no doubt but that farther up he should
find bridge of some kind.
Late in the afternoon he ran upon
two wolves in the middle of an open.
As soon as they saw him they retreated
into the timber, and Igor paid them no
further thought.
The straps of one of his snow-shoes
troubled him, occupying several minutes
in repairing, and when he started for
ward again, he was startled to see how
low the sun had got. 1t was just ready
to sink down behing the trees, Night
was close at hand.
He quickened his pace considerably,
but it was slow work at best. Sudden
ly he paused. He had heard quick,
short yelp far back upon his track. He
knew it was the bark of wolf.
, The yelp was repeated, and responses
were heard from several directions, in
front and across the river. He glanced
around him. Dusk would be coming
down soon, and the village was still
more than five miles distant.
! He could not hope to reach it in time,
for he knew that his terrible enemies
would presently be gathering upon his
| trail
Pretty soon half-a-dozen huge, gray
ish bodies appeared bounding forward
from the timber.
He paused and turned in his tracks.
The six wolves halted, too, and sat down
upon their launches, watching him
with burning eyes and lolling tongues.
Others were coming in on either side.
There might be a score of them for all
he knew, and there was but little time
for him to act.
He was close to the river now, and he |
looked eagerly for bridge. He saw
none, but his sharp eyes caught sight of
something else, something that caused
his blood to flow to his very finger lends
with a sudden glowing flush.
On the side next to him there was
sharp indentation in the river, and |
close to shore the broken ice was piled !
up in blocks like small houses. In
second he thought "Why not make
fort of one of these? With a fair kind |
of a barricade, L can make a good de-
fense against the brutes, and perhaps
by morning they will go away or some
one from the village will come along"
Fortune favored him. As he jumped
among the ice-blocks, he noticed half q
dozen pieces tipped over against larger
one at such an angle as to act like the
roof of house.
These is the place for my FORT" he
exclaimed aloud
He glanced back at his pursuers.
They were walking leisurely forward,
watching his every motion. They had
ceased to howl, as these animals
always do when they have gathered in
numbers sufficiently large to attack their
prey.
Igor knew that just as soon as it was a
little duskier, they would spring upon
him like so many tiends let loose.
His mind was made up on the instant
He leveled his rifle and discharged it at
the foremost creature, and under cover
of the smoke sprang into his place of
shelter
The interior was large enough to hold
dozen men, and the ice was so piled
around it that there were but two open
ings, one at his rear, just big enough for
a man to crawl through, and the place
by which he had entered, which he {
began to fill up by scattering pieces of {
ice.
Before he had completed his work,
the pack came rushing up, swapping
their teeth and snarling, but they did
not test the strength of his intrench-
ment, and the boy kept at his labor till 1
he had a complete wall of ice on that
side, which no force of theirs could
break through. The crevice at the
other end he left open, and crawling to
the aperture, waited for the animals to
make their appearance, as he was sure
they would
He had not long to wait Soon he
heard shifting, and then pair of blaz-
ing eyes glanced in at him. Igor had
his gun at his shoulder, and he took
aim right between those two balls of
fire.
When the smoke cleared away the
fiery eyes were no longer visible, and
outside there were horrible growls and
munching and savage snarling.
He glanced out and could just distin-
quish mass of dark figures fighting
over the bones of their devoured com
rade. 1t looked as though there might
be two score of the brutes. He was be-
sieged in truth.
They gathered in circle around his
fortification and set up a doleful bowling,
feeling disappointed, no doubt, in losing
such an excellent supper. !
Presently another pair of cleaning
eyes shone at the opening. Igor waited j
this time till the savage beast was half
way through the crevice before he fired.
The lifeless body of the wolf pitched
forward, and Igor drew it wholly into I
the inclosure. The carcass made a
warm carpet for his feet, and he deemed {
it fortunate thing that he could make ,
so good use of his enemies, for it was
getting the least bit chilly inside the ice
fort.
The young hunter had enough to ,
keep him busy for time, for a wolf
continually presented himself at the
aperture.
After he had shot several, Igor had a
thought; he would save his ammunition ,
and use his axe instead. So he flung
away his gun, and, grasping his broad !
bladed weapon, stood ready like any
stout guardsman that might have fol- /
lowed the fortunes of the Muscovite
czars.
1t is almost incredible, but when the
morning dawned there were twenty-five
wolves lying dead inside the ice fort,
and Igor was confident he had killed
nan as many more, most of the latter
having been deyoured by their compan-
Ions.
he felt greatly relieved when the
dawn came, for the large number of
warm carpaSSps iDci1a ho1